title: The prevalence of depression in high school students.
abstract: In response to the need expressed in the literature on adolescent depression, recent studies have examined the incidence of affective disorders. However, there continues to be a paucity of research on the prevalence of depressive symptomatology in nonpatient adolescents. The Canadian literature is especially lacking in this area. The present study examined the prevalence of depression in a sample of 366 Canadian high school students. Consistent with similar research in the United Kingdom and the United States, 31.4% of the sample were midly to clinically depressed as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. Significant sex differences were found; these are discussed in the context of age and level of depression. The need for further research on adolescent depression is emphasized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Ehrenberg
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Koopman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires